The Street Fighter Zero 2 Dash/Alpha 2 gold Dhalsim Guide[Sega Saturn] 22/03/99 By Waleed Mahdi[Middlekick@hotmail.com] Ver. 2.0 Version history =============== Ver. 1.0 first version released Ver 1.1 Added yoga drill info Added super bar management Added more throw info Added other tidbits e.g typos etc. Ver 2.0 More in the versus strats section. Combo section improved. Changed normal move terminology. Contents. 1, Introduction 2, Colours 3, Normal Moves 4, Command moves 5, Throws 6, Alpha counters 7, Special Moves 8, Super combos 9, Combos 10, Strategy 11, Closing 1.0 Introduction ============ I first saw Dhalsim in [obviously] SF2 the world warrior, and although I thought he was interesting, I didn't use him at all. I picked Ryu as my main character[I didn't have much access to game anyway so when I played it was Ryu or Ken]:( I didn't start playing Dhalsim until Alpha 2, After playing him in SFA2 I went back to SSF2 and SSF2T just to get a better understanding of his strengths and weaknesses, I also started to play him in the playstation version of SFEX+A. By the way, this was my first attempt at writing a Faq so don't expect perfection. Okay? 2.0 Colours ======= X button: Yellow Shorts. Dhalsim's standard colour. A button: Light brown shorts, blueish,greyish skin. Y button: Green shorts dark brown skin. B button: Orange shorts. Z button: light green shorts.[original autoblock colour] C button: light blue/grey skin pink shorts.[alternative autoblock colour] 3.0 Normal Moves ============ A word about limbs: Dhalsim has two versions of all his regular attacks, one when the controller is in neutral,[down, up,downtoward,uptoward,toward] and when the controller is in the away position[back,downback,and upback].This allows Dhalsim to chose exactly what type of regular attack he wants to do. Standing jab. ------------- This is Dhalsim's most effective air counter, and is best done when the opponent is within close to medium distance. It can also stop certain long distance jump attacks too, such as Zangief's normal jumping fierce. Standing short. --------------- This move is quite fast and has decent range, it is an effective poke and can be done repeatedly to push your opponent out of range. Standing strong. ---------------- Dhalsim stretches one arm out at medium height. Decent reach,I use this as backup after the standing short or crouching jab. This can also hit opponents out of the air, but you shouldn't be using it as an anti air, when you have standing forward or roundhouse. Finally, you can do to hit opponents who have jumped incorrectly into your yoga fire and whilst they are air-blocking, snap'em out of the stance with this punch. Standing forward. ----------------- You would normally do this to stop jumpers from far away and for yoga fire trap patterns. Also try this occasionally at the start of the round for a sneeky hit:) Standing fierce. ---------------- This is Dhalsim's longest ranged move, and has nearly full screen reach! I generally use this after I throw a jab yoga fire to add pressure or as a two hit combo. This can punish fireballers who are silly enough to counter your yoga fires with their own projectiles. [old guile tech] Standing roundhouse. -------------------- Not much use except this can be used as an alternative to the standing medium kick for more damage, this has slightly longer range than the medium version. Crouching jab. -------------- Very good reach and speed, useful poking move from a distance. Crouching strong. ----------------- Same as above but slightly slower. Crouching fierce. ----------------- Same as above but this is also useful for trading with fireballers or hitting them cleanly if they are Bison,Charlie[do it early], Rose or Sagat[High version]. Crouching short. ---------------- A quick slide that does not knock down, can be used to advance to the foe. Your yoga inferno combos from this move as well. Crouching forward. ------------------ You can advance with this. Crouching roundhouse. --------------------- Dhalsim's famous slide which you should know by now is the perfect counter for close fireball's or missed attacks the range is also good. You can also slide jumping opponents aswell although this is blockable, try it once in a while to give them one more thing to think about. This move also has some pretty heavy lag after it, so make sure that it hits. Away standing jab. ------------------ like the neutral version but comes out slower. Away standing short. -------------------- a much shorter ranged version of the original, that's all I know about it. Away standing strong. --------------------- a very good air counter if the opponent is very close and right above you. More vertical range than the jab. Away standing forward. ---------------------- So far the only thing I use this for is to counter Dan's dankukyaku, Sakura's forward and roundhouse shun pu kyaku, Sometimes the shotokaners version. Away standing fierce. --------------------- Dhalsim's double headbutt, this hits hard and can cancel off the first hit. Away standing roundhouse. ------------------------- Dhalsim does a defensive knee, it can also counter the air hurricane[usually] and Zangief's long distance jumping fierce. This can be used for anti air providing you are close, and do it before the opponent sticks out their.....whatever. It's not really that realiable as you'll usually trade. Away crouching jab. ------------------- This can combo, and is fairly fast...you can link about 2 or 3 of these together. Away crouching medium punch. ---------------------------- At close range this snuffs a lot of crouching moves as long as it is done BEFORE the opponent's. This can also be linked into another crouching strong or a low forward. Away crouching fierce. ---------------------- Good damage but slow. Away crouching light kick. -------------------------- Can two in one from it. Away crouching forward. ----------------------- Most of my two in ones are based on this, decent range. Away crouching roundhouse. -------------------------- Same as above but the main use of this is to start off my custom combos. Jumping jab. ------------ This can act as an overhead, when done early. Jumping strong. --------------- This has long range and is a decent air to air counter. Jumping fierce. --------------- This also acts as an overhead but your timing has to be pretty fast to catch your opponent with it, do it VERY early on your way up. There is no way to tell it is coming. [apart from being too obvious with it]. Also be careful with this because some opponents can punish you straight after your fierce connects. Good air to air move as well. Jumping short. -------------- Good air to air, very long range best done jumping backwards or straight up. Jumping forward. ---------------- Same as above. Jumping roundhouse. ------------------- This has very good range and the straight up version is a good air hurricane counter from a distance. 4.0 Command Moves ============= Yoga shock. ----------- This is Dhalsim's official overhead attack and is quite slow due to the fact that you have to charge it. If you are going to use this, try to do it when they are getting up...actually no. DO NOT BOTHER WITH THIS MOVE AT ALL! MOTION: Hold away and the jab button. Head drill. ----------- Dhalsim dives head first at the opponent while spinning. If you anticipate a fireball try this but you must have good timing and positioning but won't work against high projectiles such as the soul spark, sonic boom, high tiger or psycho shot. Also good for air to air. MOTION: Jump then down+heavy punch. Drill kick. ----------- This comes in three versions far, medium, and close.It is important that you do the correct version at the correct distance, for example do not use the far version(short) at very close range. Even if you hit them, you can be hit whilst you are still doing the move. Try to hit the opponent as low to the ground as possible so that it makes contact while you are landing. This move could also be used to waste time or add pressure if your opponent does not have any super energy and is in the corner, do the forward and roundhouse versions repeatedly,some characters can't do a thing to stop this:) The roundhouse version can also cross up opponents. MOTION: Jump then down+ short, forward, or roundhouse. Yoga escape. ------------ Can be used as an equivalent to the jab getting up roll, but don't do it too close. MOTION: When falling to the ground enter Back, Downback, and down+kick. Yoga palm. ---------- I have no idea what this is and how to use it, fake out perhaps ? MOTION: Forward + jab. 5.0 Throws ====== Yoga throw. ----------- A double handed grapple where he grabs your head and chucks you. If the opponent is not in the corner Dhalsim will throw them a very far distance. If you want distance with you opponent, this is the move for it. But unfortunately, it does not have the insane range it used to in the SF2 games. MOTION: Forward or back+heavy punch. Yoga smash. ----------- Dhalsim repeatedly bashes your head in! pressing the buttons and shaking the pad rapidly makes him do it faster and more damage. The opponent will still be quite close after this throw. MOTION: Forward or back+medium punch. 6.0 Alpha Counters ============== As a rule I generally think counters are kinda cheesy and dishonourable ESPECIALLY Ken's kick version (lil mo furr:) but your opinion may differ so I'll write them anyway. NOTE: Alpha counters now require one and a half level of your super meter(Hurrah!). Punch alpha counter. If someone jumps and they hit you from the shoulder up, do it then. MOTION: While guarding enter; Back,Downback,Down+punch. Kick alpha counter. If you block close a fireball, or a heavy standing attack, like Ken's roundhouse for example. MOTION: While guarding enter Back,Downback,Down+kick. 7.0 Special Moves ============= Yoga fire. ---------- Dhalsim's own special projectile. This move is quite essential for your "keep them away but make them come to you "strategy. This is quite fast to come out,so can suprise some opponents at close range. The bad news is that it does not travel the entire length of the screen, and the heavy punch version travels the least but the light punch version travels the farthest. Also the heavy and medium punch versions knock the opponent down while the light version briefly stuns them. MOTION: Qcf+p Yoga flame. ----------- Dhalsim breathes a short ranged but big ball of flame in front of him. This is a good counter to tons of special moves jaguar tooth, jaguar kick,hurricanes, air hurricanes, skull divers and that funky flying grab of Akuma's. This also good air counter. It works best when you can anticipate your opponent will do any of the above, also doing the fierce version randomly is not such a bad idea as very few opponents can punish you if you don't connect with it. MOTION: Hcb+p Yoga blast. ----------- Dhalsim's custom made anti air move. Do this early so that your opponent jumps into it. Always use the light kick version as you won't be left a sitting duck if you miss the move. This move is what all of your custom combos should include. MOTION: Hcb+k Yoga teleport. -------------- When he does this move, he cannot be hit whilst he's doing it. However he can be smacked as he is reappearing. You can use this to escape if your opponent has you in the corner and you are under heavy fire. NOTE:this can be an absolute lifesaver:) You can also play annoying games of chicken when your opponent desparately chases after you.Can be done in eight positions including the air. MOTION: Fwd,Dwn,Dwnfwd+3por3k Bck,Dwn,Bckdown+3por3k. 8.0 Super Combos ============ Yoga inferno. ------------- Although it is called yoga inferno, don't be fooled into thinking this is the same super as in SSF2T. Dhalsim breathes waves of flame onto his opponent, this gets 3 hits at level 1, 8 hits at level 2, and 13 hits at level 3. It is safe if blocked. MOTION: Qcf,Qcf+p Yoga strike. ------------ This is like Rose's soul throw with much less vertical and horizontal range. If you do want to catch your opponent with it, you have to anticipate your opponent is going to jump. Do it fairly early though or you can be hit out of it, even the level 3 version :( You can also juggle your opponent with the level 3 version after a connected yoga flame or yoga blast. Also, after connecting with this move you land right to your opponent. It would be advised to either teleport away from a possible wake up throw or high priority super. MOTION: Qcf,Qcf+k Yoga tempest. ------------- This is Dhalsim's new[ish] super for dash, it is basically the old yoga inferno from SSF2T. This is a good alternative to the yoga flame, it will also get all hits even if you catch your opponent in the air with it. It has some pretty terrible lag time if your opponenent blocks this close up, so watch it! This gets 3 hits at level 1,4 at level 2 and 5 hits at level 3 MOTION: Hcb,Hcb+p 9.0 Combos ====== Dhalsim is not exactly as combo gifted as someone like Ken or Guy and they are rarely over four hits[if you don't count the level 2 and 3 inferno or custom]. He can do some juggling though and does decent damage especially combo number 7 and the custom. 1. Light yoga fire from nearly full screen-> standing/crouching fierce. 2. Crouching away strong-> link to crouching away forward. 3. Crouching away strong or forward-> yoga fire. 4. Jumping away fierce/drill kick-> low forward-> yoga fire. 5. Jumping away fierce/drill kick-> away standing fierce-> yoga fire/flame. 6. Jumping away fierce/drill kick-> away standing fierce-> yoga flame- >yoga tempest. 7. Jumping away fierce/drill kick-> away standing fierce-> yoga flame- >yoga strike.(corner) 8. Jumping away fierce/drill kick-> away standing fierce-> yoga flame- >level 1 yoga inferno. 9. Yoga blast-> level 3 yoga strike/tempest. 10. Jumping away fierce/drill kick->Crouching light kick->yoga inferno. 11. (custom combo)Crouching roundhouse-> yoga fire-> yoga blastx2-5. 12. Anti-air Standing jab-> level 3 yoga strike. 13. Roundhouse drill kick-> Crouching away roundhouse-> level 3 yoga strike.(very close) 10.0 Dhalsim's strategy ================== Dhalsim is still played basically the same way as in SSF2T, But slight changes to some of his normal and special moves require a little modification in his general strategy. Changes from SSF2T: His yoga fire doesn't travel the full screen distance. He has a longer recovery time from throwing a yoga fire. All of of his long distance normal attacks have more reach. His yoga fire comes out quicker. His throws have less range.[damn:(] Slower teleport. New standing short. New commands for some of his special moves. New air teleport. And of course, the custom combos. The above are the most noticible changes Dhalsim has recieved from SSF2T to SFA2 and he has very few new additions in SFA2G/SFZ2'. Changes from SFA2: Yoga fire does less damage. New yoga tempest.[see super combos] Easier to stop level 1 yoga inferno and yoga strike on startup Yoga strike does less damage.[all levels] New juggling abilities with the yoga strike. Overall strategy ================ I think Dhalsim is most effective when he is at some distance with his opponent, this is because he can try to set up his opponent with the yoga fire patterns or just use his limbs to harass to opponent, Dhalsim should also be at a distance where he can safely counter jump in attacks without fear of trading hits or getting hit cleanly out of whatever he's trying to defend with. Generally, you should try to poke them so they get pushed away and you will be at the distance you want to be, where you can set them up with yoga fires, kick patterns or just use your limbs to poke them some more. Dhalsim should also always have more health than whoever he's challenging. The simple reason for this is to keep them coming to you when they are farther away from you. If not, they can hang back and make you come to them which is not a good idea for Dhalsim. Especially if the opponent is turtling, Dhalsim can't really do much to stop this and you'll probably get a counter of some kind because you'll be desparately attacking trying to pressure them. Yoga fire then standing forward or roundhouse ============================================= If you do push your opponent away, one option is to try the yoga fire then kick pattern. This is tricky because to get this work effectively you must be at a distance where as soon you throw your yoga fire you will be able to standing forward or roundhouse them out of the air as soon they jump, The key to this is the further away you are the better this trick will work. You should also be at a distance where your opponent can't antipate your yoga fire and jump in and do whatever. However,the problem lies in the dissipation of the yoga fire when at full screen, so you have to position yourself where when you send your fire your opponent must block it, jump it or try to counter with an appropiate special move. Poking from a distance ====================== Poking your opponent when from afar may seem quite effective if you think in terms of "I can hit him but he can't hit me". However this is not the case as almost all characters can hit you if you're not careful. The opponent can only take advantage of this if they know you'll stick out a limb, so be careful. The main moves I use to poke my opponent are standing short, crouching jab, standing strong, and when at the furthest distance, standing and crouching fierce. Whilst poking with these moves I'll place a standing forward into the sequence if I suspect that my opponent might try a jump. Out of all of the above I tend to use the standing short the most. Although the crouching jab has more range, hits standing opponents plus can hit certain fireballers, I don't use it as much. Go figure. Handling fireballs ================== When in a full screen fireball war that you are losing,it may be more useful if you jump straight up over it since there is minimum threat if you do,you lose no energy and can put you in quite an advantageous positon. You see, because Dhalsim's jump is very floaty you do not need worry about any special timing and can be done with ease. But one good thing is, if you jump the fireball and your opponent tries to follow the fireball you can use the following setups to get them and put you in a[hopefully] better position. If they walk behind the fireball and try to get you as you are landing, use a forward drill kick into crouching forward two in one yoga fire and poke pattern to push them out. If they try to follow the fireball by jumping you can use either the jumping fierce, strong,forward or roundhouse while still landing. If they follow the fireball but wait for you to land or your drill, try the air teleport to get away. Wake up! ======== When knocked down try to use the jab roll when at a medium to far distance if you do it a close range, smart opponents will be able to hit you during the roll. I've seen someone get hit during their roll and get knock down and roll again and get knocked down and roll again and get knocked down, fools! they did not learn! The point, it's not always to your advantage to use this roll. Take caution. Ground ------ Custom combo. Level 2 or 3 yoga inferno. Level 2 or 3 yoga tempest. Yoga teleport. Against jumpers --------------- Yoga tempest Yoga teleport. Yoga strike[cross ups only] The super bar ============= In A2/Z2 Dhalsim's supers weren't that hot(no pun intended)...poor range,weren't easily comboable and limited use. In A2G/Z2' The tempest is the best thing he could have asked for, it makes great anti-air becuase of it's range and juggles rather well too. Dhalsim's customs are decent enough to warrant using them...Over 60% from a level3 and more damage overall than any level of any of his supers. Basically, I only bother with the tempest and the customs. Versus Matchups =============== Adon: Try to stay at a distance where you won't get the revolver or the regular jaguar kick over your fires. If he gets close, watch out for: empty jump into throw[always counter his jump ins], over head, cross ups, he's also one of the few chararcters that still has jaw dropping customs, so be prepared. Use the away crouching strong/forward to beat most of his pokes. Use a custom/super to punish him for a blocked/hit jaguar kick, which BTW has more end lag than before. Akuma: His fireball has been sped up a tad, but that won't save him from your yoga fires as he can't match them. When he jumps he tends to do an air fireball to protect him from anti air attacks so when he jumps from a close distance, time a custom to pass the air fb and flame away:) He also likes to do his cammy style jump and grab, so a yoga flame/tempest will counter this. Another thing to keep an eye out for is the dive kick and hop kick...they're both fast and suprising, but you can custom any follow up he makes after them. If he tries to IHM(how pointless) you when you are getting up, try a custom combo as it's way easier than trying a motion for a super. Birdie: The first round can be pretty easy, but by the second round he WILL have super energy and you pretty much have to be extremely shy and cautious with your moves because that super[you know the one] will beat any anticipated poke or fire. The drill is hard for him to counter though, and use a custom combo to counter any tick throw attempts. Bison: Hit him with your low fierce any time you see a psycho shot[trade or clean] to discourage him from sending them. Bison also likes to go for that skull diver/head press nonsense, an early yoga blast should suffice or you could just block the head press and then yoga tempest the following skull diver. Your crouching away strong works wonders against most of his pokes aswell. Cammy: She has extremly good poking ability and a good air to ground roundhouse. Try to keep her away, but watch out for the super when she calls bison which has full screen range and is a good fireball counter. It has long end lag when blocked, so when this happens standing fierce her. watch out for repeated hooligan jumps when you're getting up, get ready to tempest. Charlie: His short somersault shell can be fully air blocked[boo, I also play him!] but that should'nt make the slightest bit of difference with Dhalsim, since 1:Dhalsim rarely needs to jump. 2: if you jump in with any thing but a drill he can hit you with other moves. Anyway, you should keep him at a distance where you can hit him under the sonic booms and do your yoga fire kick patterns. Chun li: A tough match because Dhalsim can't counter her jump ins effectively[at best the standing away strong will ususally trade hits] so I sometimes like to do the short yoga blast when I "feel" she's going to jump or just do the tempest. When she gets close watch out for low forward into sen en shu[overhead],and frequent jumping shorts and low forwards. When I see a lot of low forwards, I'll do a forward drill kick to stop her from doing this then try to push her away. Oh, and no more 40% level 1 custom...HURRAH! Dan: He can counter your limbs with his crouching fierce and sail your close fires with his dankukyaku. A cross up happy dan is still a threat imo:p Gen: Mantis style now has an extremely fast and low jump so he can quickly jump in on reaction if you try to yoga fire him when at anything less than full screen range. Keep him out at all costs because he's a real killer at close range imo. Kiryu style has a higher, yet slower jump but he can roll under your fires even at full screen range. When he gets close watch out for that really wide cross up of his, and use tempest if he tries the "back and forth method". He also posseses an extremely long ranged jumping roundhouse[kiryu] that hits twice, so always keeps this in mind and make sure you block two hits when he jumps in. Also, because of kiryu style's higher jump,your standing jab tends to miss when he jumps, so go with away standing strong/tempest for anti- air instead. Guy: Be careful with your yoga fires, as all it's takes is one bushin izuna drop->jumping punch super to have you playing catch up. Do your usual poke stuff, and when he does get close, a well placed custom can interrupt some his close up tactics such as a running in throw, an overhead,or running in super[the new grab one]. Ken: Ken might try an air hurricane to get close, so whilst you are doing fires, mix the yoga blast in between or if you don't do this, you can wait till you see it coming then...tempest or slide to hit him as he is landing from the air hk. At close range Ken players will use the roll of various strengths of to go offensive on you. Try to reverse the roll into throw with your own throw or a super/custom. Watch out for the rolling behind you at close range where he'll pull a combo on you before you change your blocking position. Rose: This is hard. Rose can counter your limbs pretty effectively plus throwing fires puts you in a bad position as the soul reflect can make things look grim. You should keep the use of your limbs to a bare minimum. So what to do? Well, you can hit her under the soul spark and your anti airs still work, just be patient. Rolento: Throwing fireballs at a distance isn't too wise as the super jump and the level 3 "take no prisoner" super will spell death for you. You can slide/custom to pass the stinger depending on the angle of the knife and hit him as he is landing. Watch out for the kick counter where he switches sides and can combo you before you realise what has happened. Devoid of any good customs this time around you'll get to see the true Rolento! Ryu: Stay as far as possible and jump straight up over the fireballs, you can keep doing this till he decides to come after you, then you can harrass him with limbs. An early low fierce can hit him out of his fireball[the fireball will still come out, but your arm will have retracted so you can block in time]. His fireball does less damage now so trading with him can be to your advantage. His level 1 shinkuu hadouken is easy to stop now so you might want low fierce him anytime you expect this. Sagat: You can low fierce him under the high tigers and [with timing] drill kick the low ones. Watch out for the tiger cannon once he has super energy he will use this against your yoga fire. Get ready to tempest any close range jumping attempts he may have, as the jab doesn't work so well against him. Also, because Sagat is a slightly larger character than most, your jumping fierce overhead will work better here. The same goes for Zangief and Birdie. Sakura: Keep your distance, you can sometimes get her when she tries her fireball with your crouching fierce. Stick out yoga flames when at medium distance to keep her from doing the shun pu kyaku. She also has a fairly hard time countering your drills. Sodom: He has a long ranged jumping roundhouse and very difficult to counter jumping fierce. Watch out for a standing short/forward-> butsumetsu buster as the this is one of sodom's main ways of landing this move. If you are blocking when you see the Tenchusatsu super grab, quickly do a custom to escape and punish him. Zangief: If he tries to lariat through the yoga fires, low fierce him. When he gets close, ALWAYS react to his jump ins with a tempest or a standing jab (make sure your in range, as he will jump in but the jab will whiff and...) As with all the grapplers, always use a custom to escape their command throw attempts. 11.0 Closing ======= Well that's it,thanks for reading I hope you got at least one useful thing out of this guide. If you have any comments,suggestions,more Dhalsim strategies etc, feel free to mail me at: Middlekick@hotmail.com Acknowledgements: Andy Lawrence for rock solid challenges at the silver dollar. Jerome Harper for good challenges on EX and claiming Garuda is a "fair" character....ha ha ha boy, I laugh myself to sleep every night with that one:p Ron for free credits at Segaworld, no wonder it closed down:) Gamest mook EX series vol.11 for custom combo and anti air info plus official move names. End of Document. 14/03/99